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The
Mauser Influence on Rifles of the 20th CenturyIts
a fact that American bolt-action rifles of the 20th century were most influenced
by a bolt rifle from the 19th century, and if I had to name the bolt-action
rifle of the 19th and 20th centuries combined, the task would be easy. I would
simply name the Mauser. This rifle formed the basis for nearly all turnbolt
rifles of the 20th century, and certainly all the popular ones.

Fred
Wells in Prescott, Arizona, has been making better-than-original copies of the
Mauser design for many years using modern steel. Fred, nearly 80 years old,
says that any time you depart from the basic Mauser design youre going
downhill. Fred has a point, and some design basics of the Mauser have not been
improved on by rifles of the 20th century.

In
some respects, variations or copies are not as good as the old Mauser. Take
the claw extractor of the Model 98. It has a reputation second to none among
todays extractors. It controls a round of ammunition from the moment it
leaves the magazine rather than rattling around as with most modern push-feed
designs. The Winchester Model 70, which is available with another extraction/ejection
system, is generally preferred with the controlled feed claw extractor and standing
ejector. The Ruger Model 77 was upgraded from a push-feed and plunger ejector
to a claw extractor and standing ejectorthe same basic system as the old
Mauser 98.

What
most folks do not realize is that modern claw extractors are not like the old
Mauser. The Mauser bolt, you see, has an undercut in the groove that guides
the forward end of the claw around the boltface as the bolt is rotated. Into
this Mauser undercut fits a foot or extension on the base of the extractors
guide rib for bolt rotation. This extension is missing on modern claw extractors.
What difference does that make, you might ask? The difference is that the Mauser
extractor will not slip off a case rim. The harder you pull on the bolt handle,
the harder the claw tips inward and grips. Because of this it is a true claw
and is really why this type of extractor is called a claw. Its grip
is strong enough to pull a chunk of brass out of the case rim if a stuck case
doesnt budge. Modern claw extractors lack the foot and consequently slip
out of the cases extractor groove and over the rim if enough pressure
is applied on the bolt handle.

Another
feature of the old Mauser often overlooked by students of the modern firearm
is the ring of steel inside the receiver just behind the barrel threads. The
rear of the barrel butts up against this shoulder, and the ring surrounds the
boltface and base of the cartridge case with just enough of a break for the
extractor nose. You wont find this internal ring of steel on modern bolt-action
rifle receivers, yet it adds an extra margin of strength and safety.

The
large gas flange at the rear of the Mauser bolt has been copied or reproduced
in some way on modern rifle designs, but the gas deflecting step in the bolt
shaft has been left out. The Mauser bolt has a step towards the rear of the
bolt that mates with a step in the receiver which prevents the gases getting
a straight shot at the shooter under the flange.

A
third lug to the rear under the receiver bridge serves as a safety lug on the
Mauser, and a variation of this was applied to the 1903 Springfield rifle. Some
writers, including Jack OConnor, said that it was of no value. OConnor
said that it would only serve as a trip to swing the bolt to the side when it
came back, that if the forward two lugs failed, the third one certainly wasnt
going to stop anything. If youve ever seen a rifle bolt with both forward
lugs sheared off and the rear one remaining, as I have, it will convince you
otherwise.

One
reason that the Mauser had so many safety features is because cartridge cases
werent as heavy or as good back then as those made today. But more importantly
steels werent very good then, and they werent very uniform. The
steel was pack hardened or case hardened, a heating and cooling process that
drives carbon into the steel from the outside, leaving a hard exterior that
is relatively thin and a soft interior. The case hardening on the old rifles
was not consistent. Today, with much stronger homogeneous steel, some of the
old design features are probably not necessary. In fact, one of the two most
important influences in rifle design for the 20th century is the improvement
in steel. The other major influence is the manufacturing process. The old Mauser,
for example, was made by machining away steel that was not necessary and leaving
the shape that was desired, but no compromise was made in the design features.
The rifle was designed to be a good one and then it was made.

Today,
design is dictated by the manufacturing process, and the key is keeping the
cost down to make rifles affordable. This brought about the popularity of the
tubular receiver because it was easier and less expensive to make. Less metal
had to be removed. Rather than machine a recoil lug, for example, it is less
costly to sandwich a washer between the barrel and receiver instead.